Professional Profile

Rais A. Ansari, Ph.D.

My lab is engaged in three areas of research: 1- Alcohol mediated Hypertension, 2- Development of antihypertensive drugs, and 3-Estrogenic potential of Xenoestrogens.
Alcohol is a hepatotoxicant whose biotransformation products activate a set a of transcription factors which may activate genes in liver which play a significant role in blood pressure regulation. Employing hepatocytes, our laboratory is deciphering the presence of putative transcription response elements in the gene(s), response element mediated gene regulation and its role in vivo. We employ state of art molecular biological techniques, like electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), gene reporter assay, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and subtraction hybridization etc besides routine molecular biological techniques. Another aspect of the research involves development of newer antihypertensive drugs. Due to toxic effects of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) blockers and angiotensin receptor type I blockers, there is need for newer compounds for antihypertensive therapy. Employing biotechnology, we are expressing and purifying selective genes which are involved in blood pressure regulation. These purified proteins are being used to design and select new inhibitors.
Man made synthetic compounds which possess partial estrogenic activity have been implicated in disruption of endocrine system and are referred as “Endocrine disruptors”. Some of our initial studies indicate that these compounds which are partial estrogen agonist may possess full agonistic activity in mediating its effects on other transcription factors. Employing molecular biological techniques, our laboratory is defining the effects of these xenoestrogens on transcriptional activation of genes which may be regulated by xenoestrogens.

Research Interests:

Gene Regulation after Xenobiotics
Regulation of human angiotensinogen and CYP11B2 genes after xenobiotics